I wrote the header for the post and then I wondered if other people in the world know what "tizzied up" means. I did a quick definition search and came up empty. Basically, tizzied up means taking something basic and making it more pleasing in a simple, but effective way. I believe Kath and Kim would tizzy things up. A lot.

The Weetbix slice is a basic quick and easy recipe, and this month's Taste magazine tizzied it up. Even tizzied, the ingredients are probably in most houses and you can substitute to your heart's content: peanut butter for Nutella, oats or raisins for coconut, maple syrup or honey for Nutella. Add nuts or seeds, dried fruit or choc chips. Decorate with chocolate icing, or hundreds and thousands!!! I actually used Vitabrits instead of Weetbix, as the former has less added sugar and I always like to sprinkle a little sugar on my brits or bix.

I bought ordinary M&M's, but you could use any small lolly. I chopped them up a little, and there were just enough brown ones in the big packet. Excellent!!

Joy of joys, this takes 15-20 minutes to bake. By the time the oven has heated up, the slice is ready to bake. I think it is a pretty great recipe. Jet'sMum asked for a cake this morning, and this is a slice, but as it is a posher version I think it might just qualify!!!

Taste Magazine puts a fancy info-graphic instead of a list of ingredients. I prefer a list.

Weetbix Slice: Tizzied Up makes 16-18 pieces

125g butter, melted

1/3 cup Nutella

1 egg

5 Weetbix, crushed

1 cup Self Raising flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

To decorate:

100g white chocolate, gently melted

30g mini M&M's

Preheat the oven to 180*C or 160*C fan-forced.

Mix the melted butter and the Nutella and then mix in the egg.

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Stir well.

Grease and line a brownie or slice tin, approximately 16 x 26cm, letting the baking paper to over hang the sides. Spoon the weetbix mixture into the tin and press down evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes. It is ready when the top is just firm and it is golden brown. Mine took 20 minutes to be ready.

Cool in the tin. Make sure it is quite cold, and remove carefully to a rack. At this stage you can make a simple chocolate icing, or go for something a little more fancy. I put the melted white chocolate in a ziplock bag, snipped the corner and then drizzled diagonally across the slice. Then I scattered over the M&M's. I did make sure they were in some chocolate so they would adhere.

When the topping is set, use a serrated knife to trim the edges if you so desire, and then cut into pieces. I think the slice needs to go into the fridge to 'set'. This was not quite cold when I cut it, and it was a tad crumbly. I think a little cold would fix that. Keep in an airtight container, in the fridge if it is hot.

While the Federal Government is trying to restrict my personal rights and collect my metadata in the name of freedom, we still have child refugees in detention centres and some unemployed possibly condemned to live for six months without any money at all. Bah humbug.

In other news the heat wave appears to be over. We have been very unhappy and unwell and Peri and I are especially pleased that it doesn't feel like 28*C when we wake up and hideously hotter as the day progresses. Thankfully a cool change has come and last night we all slept well for the first time in a fortnight. Friday, and most of Saturday, I had a nasty migraine so there was no Friday Food. I have my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that I will continue being well this week so I can bake!!

Peri and Gilly spurn Doctor Harry's ice blocks for dogs ideas. They won't have a bar of water, chicken stock, or chicken stock with treats inside.

In desperation I made up a mixture of half Jalna Greek yoghurt and half water with a tablespoon full of some local honey. I froze them in a muffin tray. These icy blocks finally passed muster. I am glad that I have another weapon in my Dog Cooling arsenal, along with the paddle pool and spritzing of bellies and heads with cool water.

I have sewed some bags this year. I have my bag sewing down to a fine art now.

I have had two lovely outings: one with MrsMadcage, and one with TinkingBell. MrsMadcage and I talked non-stop and shopped with the same focus. She found some cute fox fabric and I am going to make a brand new kind of bag for her. More to follow.

When TinkingBell and I meet, we relish the opportunity to exchange gifts. It is like Christmas or birthdays. This time I sewed some vinyl zippy bags. They are tricky, but worth the effort. I think they are very good for storing your crafty bits and bobs - for lots of crafts. This is the first time I tried this particular bag, and I am eager to try it again.

TinkingBell gave me a marvellous Jamie Oliver Tiny Greenhouse for growing herbs. I hope the seeds are girding their loins. And some gorgeous green wool that will become something warm and luscious for my neck in Winter. Come on Winter!!!

We had breakfast and I was excited to see coddled eggs on the menu. My great aunt would coddle eggs for us when I was small. She had silver coddlers and broke the eggs into them and baked them bain marie in the oven. You can also do the same thing on the stove top. I can't remember whether I liked them way back then, but I love them now. These were delicious, lightly coddled so the whites were set and the yolks runny. Served with crusty sour dough soldiers with garlic and herb oil and bacon jam. I eschewed the bacon jam, it was a tad rich.

The evenings are drawing in. Peri starts getting ready for bed at about 87pm now: as soon as it starts getting dark. She persuades Gilly that it is time for bed and that they need to go up the steps to The Forbidden Zone to do a wee and then Have A Treat and go to bed. Peri is a funny old girl. Gilly and I indulge her. We might indulge her again right now!!!

It would come as no surprise to anyone that I couldn't find my Australian Women's Weekly Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits. However, I did have a scribbled note about this recipe in the kitchen, and I took a leap of faith and went with that.

I make these truffles every Christmas for MrsDrWho, and of course, Christmas comes late to our house. You can make up to 60 truffles with this recipe, but the hazelnut outer coating can be frozen and kept for afterwards. Maybe Easter??

You can replace the hazelnut meal with almond meal. I used some very vintage Cherry Brandy to soak the cherries and flavour the truffles, but you can use brandy, rum or whatever you fancy. If you would prefer not to use alcohol, substitute some orange juice or maybe vanilla extract.

Though they may look complicated, the separate parts are easy to make. The assembling can be a tad messy!!!

The pictures may be a bid worse than usual as my camera battery's charge ran out and I used my iPad, poorly, for some of them. I hope the recipe makes sense, I am still not totally compos mentis.

Hazelnut Cherry Truffles makes up to 60

40-60 glace cherries

20ml Cherry Brandy or whatever you fancy

350g white chocolate

1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted

1 cup hazelnut meal

1 egg-white

1/4 cup thickened cream

2 tspn extra Cherry Brandy

400g dark or milk chocolate to coat the truffles

a little extra white chocolate for decorating if you wish

Soak the glace cherries in the Cherry Brandy, overnight or at least for a few hours. U put them in a ziplock bag, so I could make sure they were well and truly macerated.

Melt 350g white chocolate gently, in the microwave or over a bowl of gently simmering water. It is best to let is almost melt, and then remove from the heat and stir to melt the last few pieces so it is smooth.

While the chocolate is melting, mix the hazelnut meal and icing sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg-white and mix till a thick paste forms. This didn't happen for me, so I just poured in the cream and continued to fold everything together. If it is a little wet, add some extra hazelnut meal, if it is a little thick add some cream. It should be thick enough to stand a spoon up in it.

Finally add the Cherry Brandy and the melted chocolate and mix together well. Spoon into a lined bar tin or some other square or rectangular container. This makes it easier to cut even pieces later on, rather than spooning the mixture out inaccurately. of course you don't have to do this, but I like my truffles to be almost the same size. Refrigerate for about an hour until firm.

To make the truffles, form each small piece of the hazelnut mixture into a flattened disc and then place a cherry in the centre. Wrap the sides of the disc up and around the cherry to encase it. Finally roll into a ball. I kept the scraps of hazelnut mixture in case I needed to patch a hole. The cherry needs to be totally encased. The coating can be as thick or thin as you choose.

Refrigerate the truffles for about 30 minutes, or even put them in the freezer.

Melt the dark or milk chocolate gently, as before, in a bowl or container that is the right size for truffle dipping. Dip each truffle in the chocolate to cover it totally. I used a toothpick to dip, and I covered up the toothpick hole on top with a swirl of extra chocolate. Refrigerate the truffles and then they are done.

Or you can decorate them as you please. I melted a little extra white chocolate in a ziplock bag, snipped a hole in the corner and swirled or swooshed across the truffles. You could roll them in sprinkles, use gold leaf (my word!) or a sliver of hazelnut or cherry.

The truffles will keep for quite a long time in an airtight container in the fridge and I have even frozen them!!!

I especially put on my new dress this evening to post to my blog!! Yesterday I had a bug and was not very well. Luckily Peri and Gilly are excellent nurses. Today I felt better, but we still slept till 3pm. I have had my usual invalid food of Vegemite on toast and cups of tea, supplemented with fizzy lemon and lime Hydralyte tablets. I find the taste and effect of the tablets to be very good.

I do tire of Full Bust Adjustments and wanted a simple, cool dress to wear. I searched about on The Internet and chanced upon the SisBoom patterns. I checked out some Jamie dresses and reviews and decided to buy the pattern.

I took a day to make a toile of the bodice and a friend helped me pin and fit it. Then I made a wearable toile out of some old material. I love my new dress!!! And of course there are no photos without Labradors and no, Peri is not smelling Gilly's nether regions, even though it looks like it.

The dress has so many size options and a FBA, but again, I cut a size that was way too big for me. At least it is easier to take in, rather than let out with no extra material. I don't think next time I will do the FBA as there is quite a lot of gathering I don't need. I know, hard to believe. I also took up twice the recommended hem for my height, but I have a long torso and short legs, so I should have remembered that. There is a side zip, which I inserted on the right, so I have to do contortions to get it undone.

One great feature is that you only print out the pattern pieces for the bodice you need, and they are clearly marked, and the skirt is measured on the fabric. I only needed to print out 10 pages and they were very easy to tape together.

I emailed SisBoom to tell them of my dress joy, and had a lovely reply. Patterns are on sale till the 15th of February if you use the code SWOON. That means they are $6 US which works out to about $8 AU. So of course I bought two more patterns: Carolina Mae and Angie.

And now I am off to rest again. I have my usual appointment with my GP tomorrow, so if I am not feeling better still, I have a back up plan!!!

If you are unwell on a day when it is 30*C, Peri and Gilly will play in the paddle pool and then dig and lie in their ginormous hole in the garden. Peri looks deliriously happy. It was much cooler today, 24*C, with a nice cool brisk breeze. We were all pretty deliriously happy about that too.

You know you are too tired and too poorly when you turn up to a child's birthday party a day early. The weather was hot and humid, The Labradors went for a walk, and I wrapped and baked and tied and sewed on a button or two and left for Toddler Zoe's third birthday party.

I thought it was strange that no-one else was there when I pulled up outside. Uncle Dutch came out and I knew instantly that I was a day early. I had a teeny tiny cry, and Toddler Zoe's mum and dad and Uncle Dutch and Other Grandma fed me freshly baked sausage rolls and poured some extra sweet tea and before you could say Jack Robinson I was feeling fine again. It meant I had a few special hours with Toddler Zoe and I had a chance to fix the straps on her dress. Then I went to The Party Proper the next day!! Oh how we laughed at my inability to arrive on the right day!!!

Toddler Zoe likes flowers, so I was pleased her dresses were flowery. But, I also managed to find some flowery windmill material, so there's a Dutch connection too. I take extra care to finish the inside with French seams, or biased binding, and I also cover the ends of the zips too. I want her dresses to be nice to wear.

Although the temperatures haven't been exceedingly high, as usual I have felt the heat terribly. As has Peri. Gilly is less densely furred, and she's younger too. We are all very grateful for the air conditioner MrsDrWho rehoused here. I managed to make it blow even colder air, so cold that I felt a slight chill. It does make sleeping easier. We have had no rain, despite the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting it constantly. There has been a lot of lying in bed with the air con blowing cold, and colder!!!

This is what my next door neighbours see many times a day: Peri and Gilly waiting to be noticed and have a treat. If no-one notices quickly enough, Gilly gives a gruff "Woof" of impatience!!! Peri is feeling incredibly well. Her new arthritis drugs must have a cumulative effect, because she doesn't limp at all any more and she is so much happier and wags her tail and plays and runs about.

MissSingapore gave me lots of green wool for Christmas and I did actually find a cool time to knit. I made a Dalegg. That would be a Dalek that is made from an egg cosy pattern!! Toddler Zoe has a Dalek she can drive about, so I knew she would like one, It's much bigger than an egg cosy, but just the right size for a small hand to grasp.

I never want my blog to be a "should", so I have been just not worrying that I haven't posted. I do try to answer my comments, so I'll make that the thing I'd like to do over the next few days. I find I am best not to make resolutions, rather I have things I'd like to do this year.

This year I'd like to wear my necklaces more!!!

Oh and in breaking news, I sewed a new dress!!! I have worn it twice. It's a wearable toile, and though it's not quite right, I love it anyway. More to come soon.

Now we're all off to bed. The GardyGardeners come tomorrow, and I have Pigs in Blankets to bake so we must be up early.

Translated into Italian, that's Pasta Sciue Sciue, from the SMH Good Food. Truly, this is made in a hurry, but not a flustered one. And it is quite elegant and very flavourful.

I was able to buy a punnet of mixed gourmet tomatoes. Really ripe tomatoes being a must I think, it is where most of the deliciousness comes from. I accidentally left the fresh basil out of the fridge, so it was a tad wilted. Nevertheless it tasted fine. I used Angel Hair pasta. I boil the kettle and have the hot plate already on high and then pour the boiling water into the saucepan, add the salt, and as soon as it is bubbling this pasta is cooked in 2 minutes. Perfect.

It makes a generous serving for lunch, or add some tinned salmon, or pork. I did that and just folded it through the pasta. I've cooked this twice now, and it really can be ready to eat in less than 10 minutes. Way less. Today I cooked half the recipe, it's easy with the amounts to halve or double.

Hurry Hurry Pasta serves 4

350g pasta

extra salt for cooking the pasta

500g small ripe gourmet or cherry tomatoes

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, finely sliced

80ml very good olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

good pinch dry chilli flakes

1/2 tspn dried oregano

1 tspn sea salt

Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

extra very good olive oil for drizzling

When you choose your pasta, time it so that it will be cooked just as the tomatoes are. That should take about 5 minutes, so work back from there!! make sure the well salted water is boiling hard when you add the pasta.

Prepare the tomatoes, cut them into halves or quarters.

Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and dried oregano. Watch carefully for when the garlic 'flutters', and you will know exactly when that is: the garlic slices start to rock back and forth in the pan. As soon as that happens, turn the heat up to high and add the tomatoes and sea salt.

Cover the pan and then cook for 2-3 minutes. Take it off the heat and give the pan a chef-y shake a couple of times. It is ready when the tomatoes are soft and have released their juice.

Add the sliced basil and the drained pasta and mix well to combine.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese. I think some crusty bread and a salad wouldn't go amiss either.

Well, that was a little unexpected break from blogging. The weather was humid and I was poorly. The weather has since been cooler and we have been sneaking in extra sleep time during the day. And lo, today I cooked a loaf and this ricotta bake.

Our Library has a new emagazine feature through Zinio, which means you can download magazines FOR FREE. New ones, like Feast and Delicious and Gourmet Traveller and so many more. You can store them on your tablet and then delete them as you choose. But, you can keep them forever.

So, to celebrate NOT having to buy cooking magazines, I bought the first issue of the new Australian Women's Weekly cooking magazine. As you do. It's called Food, and I think it is rather good. It did cost $10, but there are lots of recipes I would make.

I made the Ricotta and Spinach bake, but I replaced the roasted capsicum with tomato pasta sauce. Because I like it better. Other than leaving out the pesto on top, because I am not serving mine all at once and pesto goes dull brown after a few minutes in the open air, I pretty much followed the recipe. I found the fresh ricotta I bought a little dry and I would add some extra egg or liquid next time. I also made mine in a bar tin, because I can never find a matching ring and base to any springform tin. I do despair.

It tasted delicious, I actually heated up a little of the leftover pasta sauce and ate the bake warm. Since then I have also tasted it cold, and it is just as yummy. Perfect for the lunch box, and since I was baking something for MrsDrWho's going Back To School, perfect for her too!!!

I only made half the recipe, but I have given the full amounts here.

Ricotta, Spinach and Tomato Bake serves 6

1 kilo (4 cups) of fresh ricotta

160g (2 cups) grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 extra egg yolks

1 clove of garlic, crushed

250ml tomato pasta sauce OR 200g drained roasted capsicum

40g baby spinach

3/4 cup fresh parsley and chives, chopped OR fresh basil

To serve immediately, top with:

1 tbspn (40ml) olive oil

1/4 cup pesto

2 tbspn (80ml) water

Preheat the oven to 160*C or 140*C fan-forced. Grease and line a 22cm springform cake tin. I used 2 small loaf tins, 20 x 11cm (8 x 4 inches) and half the ingredients.

In a large bowl, put the ricotta, grated Parmesan cheese, eggs and egg yolks and the crushed garlic. Mix well to combine.

Then it is just layering the ingredients into the tin. Start with half the ricotta mixture, then the spinach and I added the parsley and chives (or about half the basil) here too. Then add the tomato pasta sauce or the roasted capsicum.

And finally the other half of the ricotta mixture. I smoothed mine carefully with the back of a spoon dipped into a cup of boiling water. I also scattered some extra grated Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for about 90 minutes. It should be golden brown on top. The recipe says to rest it for about 30 minutes before you remove it from the tin, and I think this would help the springform bake keep its shape.

Here is where you can add the pesto topping, by combining the pesto and water and then drizzling it over the top, and randomly scattering the rest of the basil leaves. Serve with a green salad and maybe some garlic bread.

Plums were only $3 a kilo and there were plum recipes in my new Taste Magazine: a marriage made in the kitchen. I made a kind of version of the swirly sauce, and then used it in three yummy ways. How very MasterChef of me.

You could use any stone fruit, I think cherries would be fabulous, or peaches. I used frozen raspberries and they worked perfectly well.

My recipe makes a cup of the sauce. In deference to the recipe I did push the sauce through a sieve. Normally I don't care about the pips. I revel in the pips.

Such an easy recipe and it could only, possibly, be improved with a slosh of something alcoholic. Oh, or it could be the basis of a sparkling cocktail. I wish I had thought of that earlier.

Plum and Raspberry Swirly Sauce makes 250ml: 1 cup

5-6 plums

4 tbspn sugar, but adjust to your taste

120g, or about 1 cup of raspberries

Roughly chop the plums. I cut around the stones as they were not easy to remove. Put the plums and sugar into a saucepan over a low-medium heat.

Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and stir every now and then for 10 minutes, or until the plums have pretty much broken down. Add the raspberries.

Bring back to a simmer and stir for 3 more minutes or until the raspberries have broken down and become saucy. Now is the time to taste the sacue and add more sugar if you wish. It will dissolve quickly in the hot mixture. Cool until it's safe to handle, and then press through a sieve with a spoon. I ended up with only a couple of tablespoons of seeds and a whole cup of sauce.

At this point, you can put the sauce in an airtight container and it will keep for a week in the fridge, or longer in the freezer. I have kept some aside for later on.

I swirled some of the rest through Greek yoghurt.

I baked cupcakes and swirled the sauce through the batter and topped them with tiny plum slices as well.

You can see the gentle swirl through the cake. It is lighter when it bakes.

Finally, I swirled the plum and raspberry sauce through a litre of softened vanilla ice cream. If I had time, I would have made my own no-churn vanilla ice cream. Time has been whooshing past.

I feel I have made very good use of my plum and raspberry sauce. I have more plums. And raspberries. I foresee more swirly sauce in my future!!!

Arnott's Biscuits are celebrating 150 years of biscuit making. As part of their celebrations they have a recipe for Tic Toc Tea Cups. They are so cute!! When I was a little girl "bought" biscuits were such a treat. My mum cooked lots of cakes and biscuits, but they didn't have the elan and mystique of "bought" biscuits.

I don't think I have actually eaten one of these. Ever. They are a party food, along with Fairy Bread and little pies and sausage rolls.

I am not sure if Tic Toc biscuits and Lifesavers are available everywhere, but I am sure everyone can use their initiative.

And now for something completely different: I've made a video today. So good luck with that. As well as being a poor photographer, I am not that handy with the video setting on my green camera!!

Tic Toc Cup and Saucer Biscuits makes 28

packet of Tic Toc biscuits (28 in a packet)

28 pink and white marshmallows

a large packet of Musk Lifesavers, cut in half.

about 100g white chocolate, melted

Gently melt the white chocolate, either with short bursts in the microwave, or in a glass bowl over some simmering water.

Dip the smaller end of the marshmallow into the chocolte and place it in the centre of a biscuit, icing side up. Or clock side down!!

Dip the ends of the half Lifesaver into the white chocolate and stick it to the side of the marshmallow so it is the 'handle' of the marshmallow cup.

Well, it's official: Last year was hot. Our island's three largest cities, including ours, had the hottest day time temperatures since record keeping started and it was the second hottest year. No wonder we were hot!!! No wonder The Labradors have been in the paddle pool. A Lot.

Poor Gilly, Peri was so eager to get into the pool I think that was a bump. And after all that, Peri was not quite getting all the benefit she could have. Just two wet feet thank you very much. Gilly is mid shake, her ears are very long and flippy.

This week we are looking forward to slightly cooler temperatures and rain. I think the up and down weather set off Peri's newly diagnosed arthritis. She was very hoppy on her right front leg. If I rubbed her shoulder she ran off happily. It was noticeable when she got out of bed, or up off the floor after a nap. As she moved around, the limp went away. We saw Dr Gary, who divined that Gilly was there for moral support, and found arthritis in Peri's right elbow. She has some tablets to take for a fortnight, I think there is a positive difference already. I just didn't want her to be in any pain, and I know Labradors are stoic and brave and just put up with things. Dearest Peri.

I am not cross about things as much now. So today when I spotted these in the supermarket:

I took a picture as a trophy, as if participating in a treasure hunt. First Hot Cross Buns of the year?? Yes, spotted them today. It's like Car Bingo. I think Shell used to give out special bags of puzzles to keep children occupied on long car trips, and there was a sheet of things to cross off whilst looking out the window. So I have ticked off Back to School which started before Christmas, and now Easter. I think Valentine's Day is next on my particular Holiday Bingo card.

I did see some pretty marvellous things at Woolworths. They are selling oddly shaped fruit and vegetables: The Odd Bunch. I bought carrots for The Labradors and I ate some too. I am happy to buy weirdly shaped, too big or too small, fruit and vegetables for a cheaper price.

I bought a new dress pattern from The Etsy. It is a more casual style, less fitted and maybe a little cooler than my usual Princess-style bodice. It is the Jamie dress from Sis Boom. I love that even though it is a PDF pattern, I only needed to print out 10/88 pages. I am very happy to save printer ink. There is a three or four day sew-along, so I think I might try that. I have some old sheets to make a toile.

Forty years ago this morning, my sister woke me up to tell me that the bridge had fallen down. I turned over in bed and told her to go away and not to be so silly. She was, in fact, correct. On January 5th, 1975 the Lake Illawarra collided with several pylons of Tasman Bridge at 9-27pm. Sadly, twelve people died, five driving off the broken bridge and falling into the river. The city was divided for almost two and a half years and in the intervening time people travelled by ferry or an Army Bailey Bridge.

I haven't been knitting, but I have crocheted a Dalek Hanging Towel for a gift. It is a kitchen towel. I am not the world's best crocheter, but I learned how to bobble and carry the cotton and crochet over it too, to cut down on the number of ends to be sewn in. I used 8ply instead of 10ply so I fiddled about with the pattern to make it work. And be a decent size too. I ended up crocheting a round of double crochet, just to finish it off nicely.

The Jan/Feb Donna Hay magazine is out, and once again it is full of delicious icy treats. I am going to make one for taking to MrsDrWho's house tomorrow night. I am not sure which one.

And top to bottom, left to right: (Some are styled popsicles, in Australia we eat ICY POLES)

cookies and cream icy poles

choc dipped banana icy poles

caramel swirl icy poles

chocolate milkshake icy poles

cheats' summer sorbet slice

berry ice cream slice

passionfruit three milk ice cream cake

tiramisu ice cream cake

banoffee ice cream pie

black forest ice cream cake

lamington ice cream bars

coconut lychee raspberry icy poles

I think one of the cakes would be easiest to transport. I shall email MrsDrWho and her family ice cream cake photos and see which one they like the best .

The GardyGardeners are not coming this week and so The Labradors will go for an extra walk. I can't bear their loyal waiting at the gate, softly crying - well woofing really on Gilly's part really, to no avail.

The temperature has dropped and there is a gentle cool breeze. Time for a cup of tea and maybe an early night.